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Matt “The Terror†Serra (9-6-0) vs. Frank “Twinkle Toes†Trigg (19-7-0)
Matt Serra is a former UFC Welterweight Champion who has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Yves Edwards, Kelly Dullanty, Jeff Curran, Ivan Menjivar, Chris Lytle and Georges St. Pierre, while suffering defeats to Shonie Carter, BJ Penn, Din Thomas, Karo Parisyan, Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes. In an interesting career note for Matt Serra, it has been over nine years since Matt Serra has had an MMA fight outside of the UFC. Along with Travis Lutter, Matt Serra is the only UFC fighter to win the UFC Ultimate Fighter, with prior experience in the promotion itself. It has been nearly three years since Matt Serra won an MMA fight, with his last victory coming over Georges St. Pierre at UFC 69. Matt Serra will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with four victories coming by way of submission. Frank Trigg has had a rather unsuccessful run in the UFC, defeating Dennis Hallman and Renato Verissimo, while suffering defeats to Matt Hughes (twice), Josh Koscheck and Georges St. Pierre. Frank Trigg returned to the UFC at UFC 103 after a near five year absence, suffering a defeat to Josh Koscheck at the event. Frank Trigg also spent some time in the PRIDE promotion, defeating both Fabiano Iha and Kazou Misaki. Following the loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC 103, Frank Trigg noted that he was considering retirement until accepting this fight with Matt Serra. Frank Trigg is a fighter who is comfortable wherever the fight ends up, with fourteen victories coming by knockout and submission.
My Prediction: Matt Serra
UFC Middleweight Division Fight
Demian Maia (11-1-0) vs. Dan Miller (11-2-0)
Demian Maia has had a largely successful run in the UFC, defeating Ryan Jensen, Ed Herman, Jason MacDonald, Nate Quarry and Chael Sonnen, while suffering a lone defeat to Nate Marquardt. Early in his MMA career, Demian Maia won the Super Challenge 1 Tournament by defeating Vitelmo Kubis Bandeira, Gustavo Machado and Fabio Nascimento. Of his twelve MMA fights, none have gone to a decision for Demian Maia, which speaks to the fighters finishing abilities. In fact, the loss to Nate Marquardt at UFC 102 snapped an eleven fight undefeated streak for Demian Maia, which had lasted nearly eight years. Demian Maia will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with eight victories coming by way of submission. Dan Miller has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Rob Kimmons, Matt Horwich and Jake Rosholt, while suffering a lone defeat to Chael Sonnen. Dan Miller has also spent some time in the International Fight League, where he defeated both Dave Phillips and Ryan McGivern. Prior to entering the UFC in late 2008, Dan Miller had already attained victories over UFC veterans Mike Massenzio and John Howard. The loss to Chael Sonnen at UFC 98 snapped a nine fight winning streak for Dan Miller, which had lasted nearly three years. This fight against Demian Maia will be the first fight in eight months for Dan Miller, so cage rust can become a factor in the fight. Dan Miller will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with seven victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Demian Maia
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Mike “Quick†Swick (14-3-0) vs. Paulo Thiago (12-1-0)
Mike Swick has had a successful run in the UFC, with victories over Alex Schoenauer, Gideon Ray, Steve Vigneault, Joe Riggs, David Loiseau, Josh Burkman, Marcus Davis, Jonathan Goulet and Ben Saunders, while suffering defeats to Yushin Okami and Dan Hardy. In an interesting career note for Mike Swick, his only two losses came in title eliminator fights, which could’ve earned him title opportunities for the UFC Welterweight Title and UFC Middleweight Title. Mike Swick also spent time in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, defeating both James Gabert and Kengo Ura, while suffering a defeat to Chris Leben. Mike Swick enters the fight as a replacement for Josh Koscheck, who suffered an injury during his training for the rematch with Paul Thiago, which Josh Koscheck lost. Mike Swick will be looking to use his striking skills to win the fight, with seven victories coming by knockout. Paulo Thiago has had a successful run in the UFC, attaining victories over Josh Koscheck and Jacob Volkmann, while suffering a lone defeat to Jon Fitch. Paulo Thiago is also a veteran of the Jungle Fight promotion, where he holds victories over Leonardo Pecanha, Paulo Cavera, Ferrid Kheder and Luis Dutra. The loss to Jon Fitch at UFC 100 snapped an eleven fight undefeated streak for Paulo Thiago, which had lasted over four years. Early in his MMA career, Paulo Thiago won the Grand Prix Planaltina Tournament by defeating Marcone Marcone, Diogo Almeida and Igor Pakato. Paulo Thiago will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with seven victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Mike Swick
UFC Middleweight Division Fight
Nate “The Great†Marquardt (29-8-2) vs. Chael Sonnen (23-10-1)
Nate Marquardt has had a successful run in the UFC, defeating Ivan Salaverry, Joe Doerkson, Crafton Wallace, Dean Lister, Jeremy Horn, Martin Kampmann, Wilson Gouveia and Demian Maia, while suffering defeats to Anderson Silva and Thales Leitas. UFC VP Dana White recently stated that a victory for Nate Marquardt will get the fighter another opportunity at the UFC Middleweight Title. Nate Marquardt has also had a very long run in the Pancrase promotion, where more than half of his career fights occurred in. Nate Marquardt will be entering the fight riding a three fight winning streak that has lasted well over a year. Nate Marquardt also made history in his UFC debut, when he headlined the first ever UFC Ultimate Fight Night event against Ivan Salaverry. Nate Marquardt will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with fifteen victories coming by way of submission. Chael Sonnen has had an interesting run in the UFC, defeating Trevor Prangley, Dan Miller and Yushin Okami, while suffering defeats to Renato Sobral, Jeremy Horn and Demian Maia. Chael Sonnen also had a run in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, defeating Alex Stiebling, Bryan Baker and Paulo Filho, while suffering a lone defeat to Paulo Filho. Chael Sonnen is a well traveled MMA veteran who has fought other top stars like Forrest Griffin, Jason Miller, Akihiro Gono, Jason Lambert and Terry Martin before making his UFC debut in late 2005. Chael Sonnen will be entering the fight riding a two fight winning streak and hasn’t suffered a defeat in nearly a year. Chael Sonnen will be looking to use his ground and pound skills to win the fight, with seven victories coming by knockout.
My Prediction: Nate Marquardt
UFC Light Heavyweight Division Fight
Randy “The Natural†Couture (17-10-0) vs. Mark “The Hammer†Coleman (16-9-0)
Randy Couture is the only fighter in UFC history to hold UFC titles in two different weight classes, as he is a former UFC Heavyweight and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Randy Couture has had a long run in the UFC, defeating Tony Halme, Steven Graham, Vitor Belfort, Maurice Smith, Kevin Randleman, Pedro Rizzo, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Mike Van Arsdale, Tim Sylvia, Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon Vera, while suffering defeats to Josh Barnett, Ricco Rodriquez, Vitor Belfort, Chuck Liddell, Brock Lesnar and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. In an interesting career note, it has been nearly a decade since Randy Couture has taken a fight outside of the UFC. Randy Couture will be making UFC history with Mark Coleman in this fight, as this will be the first UFC fight in which two UFC Hall Of Fame members will fight each other. Randy Couture will be looking to use his ground and pound skills to win the fight, with seven victories coming by knockout. Mark Coleman has had a largely successful run in the UFC, defeating Moti Horenstein, Gary Goodridge, Don Frye, Julian Sanchez, Brian Johnston, Dan Severn and Stephan Bonnar, while suffering defeats to Maurice Smith, Pete Williams, Pedro Rizzo and Mauricio Rua. Mark Coleman also had a long run in the PRIDE promotion, where he fought top MMA fighters like Kazuyuki Fujita, Igor Vovchanchyn, Allan Goes, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Don Frye, Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop and Mauricio Rua. In an interesting career note for Mark Coleman, it was a full decade in between Mark Coleman’s first UFC runs conclusion and his return at UFC 93. Mark Coleman will be looking to put the fight on the ground, with eight of his MMA victories coming by way of submission.
My Prediction: Randy Couture
(Note: I will be providing live coverage of UFC 109: Relentless on Saturday February 6th at 9pm EST. on PWInsiderXtra.com)
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
